


Ride or Die

by theloversclub



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: M/M, Mike and Will aren't that subtle, Steve Harrington is a loving mom and a good babysitter, background lumax, some stancy angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 21:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12712869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theloversclub/pseuds/theloversclub
Summary: Steve wasn’t the smartest guy in the world. He knew that. Not as smart as Jonathan, definitely not as smart as Nancy. So he didn’t understand how the hell he seemed to be the only one to notice that Will clearly had a crush on Mike.Basically, Steve Harrington ships Byler and wants his kids to quit pining for each other already.





	Ride or Die

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this fic is kind of weird. Steve finds out Will and Mike are queer and, being a good mom, tries to help them figure it out. Enjoy!

Steve had only ever loved one girl. That might not be a lot in the grand scheme of things, but his experience sure made him feel knowledgeable. The fact that he wasn’t in love, not in a relationship almost made him more sensitive to broken hearts and angst around him. Now that he wasn’t wrapped up in his own little bubble, he made an observation: Relationships feel very special and unique when you’re in them, but they all seem to play out the same way. This seemed particularly transparent in the kids.

He saw relationships end, as they tend to do. Mike and Jane (who he admittedly was intimidated by, even now) thankfully ended things on a better note than he and Nancy had but he knew it was still painful. They cared about each other a lot, but Jane was still so new to the world, still learning and growing. She had explained to Mike that she needed time to become her own person out in the real world before asking someone else to love her. Mike had been upset but Steve could tell he was also relieved. The year gap had taken a toll on Mike, had forced him to grow. He wasn’t the same person who had invited Jane to the Snowball, just like she wasn’t the same Jane. They needed to get to know each other, become friends, take time to recover from the traumatic year apart before deciding what next. When Dustin told him that, he wondered how the hell that was going to turn out. 

He saw relationships begin, so different to how they usually ended, with excitement, curiosity and hope. From the day he met them, he could see how well Lucas and Max got on. Of course, he had firmly been Team Dustin but after seeing how she acted around Lucas, he realised it wasn’t going to work. Lucas and Max… they were just good together, good for each other. He was surprised himself by the depth of their connection, considering they were like 12. He knew they would end eventually too, no relationship at that age lasts long anyway but they would stay close. Maybe when they were ready to properly commit, they would find their way back to each other. He thought they had a better chance than Mike and Jane at working out in the long run. He hoped things went better for them than they did for him anyway. They were both good kids, they didn’t deserve to have their hearts broken.

And he could see pining, even more tragic than he had experienced…

Steve wasn’t the smartest guy in the world. He knew that. Not as smart as Jonathan, definitely not as smart as Nancy. So he didn’t understand how the hell he seemed to be the only one to notice that Will clearly had a crush on Mike. He had suspected it almost immediately. He couldn’t help but notice how often Will reached out to Mike for physical touch and how strongly he reacted to it. He couldn’t help but register the change in Wills demeanour when Mike came into the room, hear the softness in his voice when he spoke to him, see his eyes when they were fixed on Mike. He wasn’t looking for it, it wasn’t like he was overly invested in these kids crushes, but it was hard to miss, and he didn’t know how anyone could mistake it for something platonic. He wondered how long this had been going on for, if he really was the only one who knew, if he should at least tell Joyce that Will was crushing on a boy. He hadn’t done it before out of respect for Will. If Will hadn’t told his mom yet, that was his choice. He just hoped Will knew there was nothing wrong with him, nothing wrong with his feelings. This couldn’t be easy.

Steve knew how ugly people in Hawkins could be, and he assumed it was the same way outside of it. He had been one of those people once. He had said some ugly stuff himself, not really meaning it and just trying to rile up Jonathan but it was one of the things he had done last year that made him feel sick to remember. He couldn’t change the past. But he was still trying to make things right and respecting Will’s silence seemed like the right thing to do. Even if it killed him to see how sad Will looked sometimes, watching Mike with Jane. It reminded him of how he used to look at Nancy and Jonathan, despite the completely different situations. Now Mike wasn’t with her, but Will still looked like a lost puppy some days. Will had clearly been through hell and back, more than Steve could comprehend or fully understand, and he hoped the little guy found someone to make him happy soon. That probably wouldn’t be Mike, since Steve didn’t think he was queer, but there had to be someone else. Will didn’t realise it since crushes at that age seem eternal and painful, but he’d get over Mike and be better off for it.

That’s what Steve thought right up until the random day in March when he didn’t pay attention to how Will looked at Mike. His intended quick glance at Mike turned into a stare. For once, Steve looked at Mike as he spoke with Will, listened to his voice, looked at his body language. 

The two were shaking popcorn into a bowl, talking quietly and giggling occasionally. Steve hadn’t registered how much Mike smiled around Will, but he realised he never smiled so much around anyone else. He thought about how Mike reciprocated the physical touch that Will looked for, and how carefully he took care of Will. He let them throw some popcorn at each other, watched with his jaw slightly dropped as Mike brushed some of it out of Wills hair softly and realised this was a weird thing to be watching.

“Alright you little shits, bring the popcorn that you managed not to spill all over the floor out to the others. Dustin won’t shut up about how hungry he is, and the movie is about to start”

He noticed the blush in Wills cheeks when he first started speaking but paid extra attention to the way Mike quickly moved back from Will, dropping his hand from his hair lightning fast. They both scurried out of the room and Steve heard cheers before the start of the rented VHS blaring from the Sinclair’s TV, but he stayed in the kitchen a while, thinking.

“I knew I wasn’t that smart!” Steve thought. He was as dumb as everyone else to miss this. Clearly Mike was queer after all. Maybe only a little bit, Steve wasn’t exactly sure how Jane played into things but maybe this was a reason why Mike was happy to end the relationship with her. Because Mike Wheeler clearly also had a crush on Will Byers. And Steve wasn’t sure what the hell to do with that knowledge.

Steve wondered for a second if maybe the two boys were secretly dating this whole time, if they actually had told each other and he was getting the wrong end of the stick, and dismissed it. The look in their eyes wasn’t a happy love. It was a love filled with fear and anxiety, the kind when you almost wish you didn’t experience, the kind when you love someone so much that you want to tell them more than anything but you’re too scared. Steve knew this had to be hard on both of them. Developing feelings for someone and never knowing whether the person feels the same is crazy stressful, regardless of age but particularly at that time in your life. An added struggle with knowing your feelings were seen as wrong by so many? Steve knew the Wheelers were Republicans and he heard some disturbing stuff about Lonnie. No wonder they hadn’t told anyone, even each other. Both boys had been dealt a bad hand. This was one situation that he couldn’t relate to and he was glad. Crushing on someone shouldn’t be that stressful but he could see it was. They both liked each other, and Steve figured they would be happy together, if they got that little nudge in the right direction. And damnit, Steve would do all the nudging necessary. 

A few hours later, Steve was driving the kids home in the dark. Being driven home by Steve was an idea they had all complained about initially, saying they were 13 and well able to cycle home but Miss Byers was still against the idea of Will cycling and the others agreed to let Steve drop them home with Will for solidarity. They pretended to hate it but he knew they didn’t really. He drove over the speed limit and let them play whatever music they wanted, though he often made fun of it- he recalled the time Will had chosen the Clash… 

“What the hell is this? This is total shit” 

“It’s my favourite song Steve, so shut up! Jonathan played it for me and- “ 

“Jonathan likes the Clash? Explains so much…” 

That night, it was Dustin’s turn to choose and soon they were singing along to Wham!. Max was great at singing but hated being told so. When they reached her place he made sure to tell her to “Keep working on those angelic vocals!” as she stepped out of the car, acting hurt when she gave him the finger. 

“You can find a new babysitter if you want to act like that!” he yelled and pulled away after she walked in her front door, opened by her mom. He wondered for a second what Billy was doing but dismissed him from his mind. He wasn’t bothering Max or any of the kids, so he was irrelevant. At least, he hoped he wasn’t bothering Max anymore. She seemed fine. If he started acting up again. Steve would put up the fight he had failed at last time. 

Next was the Henderson’s. Dustin high fived Steve and told the others that he would see them tomorrow before hopping out of the car. Steve watched him enter his front door and drove away. The song stopped and the car is filled with silence for a few seconds. This wasn’t the first time he had driven the two by themselves, but it was knowing they both liked each other. He opened his mouth to say something, he didn’t know what, before shutting it. He saw the boys looking out the different windows, their hands right beside each other. Steve could practically hear their thoughts, wishing they could move their hand an inch. But they wouldn’t. Because they didn’t know how Steve would react probably. Was he that much of an asshole? Was he a person they worried wouldn’t accept them? 

“Alright, Dustin is gone and you know the drill, I’m the highest authority so I choose the music” 

He switched through the radios and heard the start of ‘Breaking Hearts (Not as Hard as it used to be)’. It played for a minute and Steve cringed more every time Elton John opened his mouth and talked about the pain of love. He thought he saw Will squirm a little and started talking to distract them. 

“So what, you have no opinion on Elton?” 

The two boys stayed still for a minute and then shrugged. 

“He’s okay I guess” Will offered up. 

“Hmmn” Steve said. Clearly not going to spark up a conversation that way. He remembered something and said it without really thinking it through. 

“You know he’s queer right?” 

Steve regretted the sudden statement when Will visibly flinched and Mike’s face turned pale. 

“What?” 

“Elton John, he’s queer. He said ages ago that he likes girls and guys, he’s uhhhh… I can’t remember the word…” 

“Bisexual?” 

Steve looked in the mirror back at Mike. He looked nervous. 

“Yeah, that’s the word. Anyway, I thought that’s pretty interesting. Don’t you?” 

“I mean whatever…” Mike mumbled. 

“Goes to show that you know, being queer doesn’t mean you’re not cool or can’t be happy. No matter what people think or say. Just thought you guys might be interested.” 

Steve looked in the mirror again to see their reactions. He hadn’t planned this and he hoped it only helped the boys. Will was sitting up straighter and had a small smile on his lips. Mike, on the other hand, was staring pointedly out the window. 

When he reached the Byers house, he and Will were singing along to Careless Whisper, with Mike staying silent. Will jumped out of the back and slammed the door. 

“See ya Steve!” 

“See you around dork” 

“Bye Mike!” 

“Bye Will” 

Steve drove away after waving at Ms Byers and it was just him and Mike. It was always this way. Steve lived close enough to the Byers so it really made no sense to go there and then back across town before doubling back home but Mike insisted he go home last. Steve wasn’t a big fan of being at home anyway so it wasn’t a big deal. 

Usually he and Mike would argue about something stupid but he didn’t think today would be like that. Mike had barely spoken since the conversation about Elton John. Steve hadn’t meant to scare him, he’d just wanted to subtly cheer up the boys and let them know they could tell him- it had worked for Will but clearly not Mike. He wanted to tell him he wasn’t going to tell anyone, even Will, but was afraid of only making things worse. So he drove in silence. 

They were halfway to the Wheelers before either spoke. 

“How did you know?” 

Steve swerved to the left in surprise and narrowly avoided crashing. He thought he’d been subtle enough to avoid an outright conversation, which he wasn’t exactly equipped for, but apparently not. There was point to lying or going back. 

“I see the way you look at him” 

Mike sighed. 

“I thought I was hiding it well, not even Dustin noticed.” 

“Well you might have fooled the others but you couldn’t fool me.” 

“Are you going to tell anyone?” 

Steve snorted. 

“Hell no. But I do think you shouldn’t hide that shit. It might be scary but I know your friends wouldn’t mind at all and it’ll be better to be honest with them.” 

“Yeah, that’s what Nancy said..” 

“So Nancy knows?” 

“Yeah, she was the first person to find out. She told me all about being bisexual and helped me understand why I liked El and then Will. It was nice. She promised not to tell my Mom or Dad” 

“Good, good. So when are you gonna tell Will?” 

“What! Never! Are you crazy?” 

“Uhh, what?” 

“Will has dealt with enough! This would really upset him, I’m not gonna ruin my friendship with him. And it would make things so weird.” 

“Well, that’s just wrong. Will is gonna be very happy that you like him back. So happy he might even kiss you…” 

Mike choked and started spluttering. 

“Will does not like me! Believe me Steve, I would know. I know Will better than anyone” 

“Mike, I saw right through him just like I saw through you” 

“Steve… just no. He loves all his friends because he’s just a caring person. I wish he liked me back but he doesn’t, okay?” 

Steve didn’t know what to say. Either Mike genuinely believed Will didn’t like him back or he was telling himself that so he wouldn’t have to confront his feelings. God, the drama of it all. He would talk to Will and see what his deal was. This was starting to give Steve a headache and he wanted it sorted out. 

As he pulled up to the Wheeler house, he was trying to figure out the best time and method to speak to Will about this. Hopefully he would have better luck with him. 

“Mike, I think you’re wrong about Will. But even you’re right, don’t let it get you down man. You’ll find someone else, someone even better than Will” 

Mike scowled at this. 

“There’s nobody else, nobody better than Will” 

Steve, having no idea how to respond to this, stayed silent as Mike slammed the door and watched Nancy open the door. He hoped Mike would maybe talk to Nancy about this. She was a frickin genius, she could help him. Nancy looked out at him and waved before closing the door. Steve stared at the door, where her familiar outline had just been, for a few seconds before shaking himself and pulling away. He was over Nance, he was, he definitely was. 

He drove toward home, finally free of the dumb kids and his babysitting duties. 

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a comment if you liked it!
> 
> oh by the way I know Elton John identifies as gay but in 1984, he called himself bisexual so I was just trying to be accurate!


End file.
